This application claims priority of Korean patent Application No. 2000-61697, filed on Oct. 19, 2000.
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a vehicle hood hinge, and more particularly to a vehicle hood hinge which suppresses injury of a walker by retracting a hood at the rear when the hood contacts with a body of the walker as a head-on collision accident occurs between a vehicle and the walker during driving of the vehicle.
2. Prior Art
Recently, according to walker safety regulations which will be in force in vehicle export countries as well as Korea, attempts have progressed to minimize an impact value which occurs when a walker collides with a vehicle, deforming a body of the vehicle, such as a hood.
According to the walker safety regulations, an impact value is detected by launching a head form, taken from a head of the walker, at a speed of 40 kph. This impact value is used as a standard determination of impact energy. A collision position of a head of a walker is virtually set at an end portion at a front glass of a hood, i.e., near a hinge.
Generally, an engine room 90 is formed at the front of a vehicle, as shown in FIG. 1. Engine and various parts are received in the engine room 90. A hood 60 is rotatably mounted around a hinge 100 in an upper portion of the engine room 90 to protect the engine room 90.
As shown in FIG. 2, a related art vehicle hood hinge includes a hinge support 20, a hinge arm 10, and a hinge pin 30. A link piece 22d having a hinge hole 23 is formed at the rear of the hinge support 20 to extend upwardly in an integral form with the hinge support 20, and a securing hole 21 is formed at the front of the hinge support 20 to pass through the hinge support 20. An insertion hole 12 is formed at the rear of the hinge arm 10, and a fitting hole 11 is formed at the front of the hinge arm 10 to pass through the hinge arm 10. The insertion hole 12 has an inner diameter equal to that of the hinge hole 23 of the link piece 22d. The link piece 22d is formed in the hinge support 20. The hinge pin 30 is fitted into the insertion hole 12 of the hinge arm 10 and the hinge hole 23.
In the aforementioned related art vehicle hood hinge, when the center of the insertion hole 12 of the hinge arm 10 is parallel to the center of the hinge hole 23 pierced in the link piece 22d of the hinge support 20, the hinge pin 30 is inserted into the insertion hole 12 and the hinge hole 23. Thus, the hinge support 20 and the hinge arm 10 are fitted to each other by the hinge pin 30 in such a manner that a top surface of a vehicle body and a bottom surface of the hood 60 are respectively in contact with a bottom surface of the hinge support 20 and a top surface of the hinge arm 10 by fitting a bolt 70 through the securing hole 21 and the fitting hole 11. Thus, the hood 60 is rotatably opened and closed around the hinge pin 30.
However, the related art vehicle hood hinge has a problem. In the related art vehicle hood hinge, the hinge arm 10, of which the top surface is in contact with the bottom surface of the hood 60 by fitting the bolt 70, is fitted into the hinge support 20, of which the bottom surface is in contact with the top surface of the vehicle body by fitting the bolt 70, by the hinge pin 30. For this reason, when the hood is in contact with a body of the walker as a head-on collision accident occurs between the vehicle and the walker during driving of the vehicle, the walker may be injured highly by an impact energy that occurs when the walker collides with the vehicle.
To solve this problem, as shown in FIG. 3, a bead portion 22axe2x80x2 is formed in the link piece of the hinge support 20 and connected to the hinge arm 10 by the hinge pin 30 by forming the hinge hole 23, having an inner diameter equal to that of the insertion hole of hinge arm 10.
In this bead portion 22axe2x80x2, when a head-on collision accident occurs between the vehicle and the walker during driving of the vehicle, the bead portion 22axe2x80x2 formed in the link piece of the hinge support 20 is deformed to absorb an impact energy, thereby reducing injury of the walker. However, it is impossible for the bead portion 22axe2x80x2 to control breakdown load. For this reason, it was difficult to suppress the injury of the walker. A problem also arises in that the hinge portion is not deformed. Because of this problem, the impact energy at the head portion of the walker increases, thereby failing to pass collision test standards of the walker.
Accordingly, the present invention is directed to a vehicle hood hinge that substantially obviates one or more of the problems due to limitations and disadvantages of the related art.
An object of the present invention is to provide a vehicle hood hinge, wherein a hood moves downwardly to absorb impact energy as a bottom end of a first link moves along a slot, thereby reducing injury of a walker when the hood is in contact with a body of the walker due to a head-on collision accident between a vehicle and the walker during driving of the vehicle.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a vehicle hood hinge in which an impact value of a walker during a head-on collision accident is minimized, so as to more safely protect the walker.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a vehicle hood hinge that fulfills walker safety regulations which will be in force in domestic and foreign countries.
Additional features and advantages of the invention will be set forth in the description which follows, and in part will be apparent from the description, or may be learned by practice of the invention. The objectives and other advantages of the invention will be realized and attained by the scheme particularly pointed out in the written description and claims hereof as well as the appended drawings.
To achieve these and other advantages and in accordance with the purpose of the present invention, as embodied and broadly described, a vehicle hood hinge according to the present invention includes a hinge arm 10 contacted with a bottom surface of hood 60 at its top surface and provided with a fitting hole 11 and first and second hinge holes 13 and 14, the fitting hole 11 being fitted into the bottom surface of the hood 60 by a bolt 70, and the first and second hinge holes 13 and 14 being formed at front and rear portions of one side of the hinge arm 10; first and second links 40 and 50 being respectively fitted into the first and second hinge holes 13 and 14 by a shaft pin 32 at their top portions; a hinge support 20 provided with a hinge hole 23 at one side portion and securing holes 21 at front and rear portions, the hinge hole 23 being rotatably fitted to a bottom portion of the second link 50 by the shaft pin 32, and the securing holes 21 being fitted into a top surface of the vehicle at its bottom surface by a bolt 70; a slot 22 longitudinally pierced in a lengthwise direction to detach the hinge pin 30 fitted into the bottom portion of the first link 40 from a center shaft of the hinge during an external impact; and a hinge positioning means 22a formed in the slot 22 to prevent the hinge pin 30 from being detached from a normal hinge operation position.
Accordingly, when the hood 60 opens and closes normally, a hinge shaft is formed in a normal position of the hinge pin 30 by the hinge positioning means 22a. When an external impact is applied to the top surface of the hood 60 to act on a head portion of a walker due to a collision accident, the hinge pin 30 is detached from the slot 22 to reduce impact energy.
It is to be understood that both the foregoing general description and the following detailed description are exemplary and explanatory and are intended to provide further explanation of the invention as claimed.